She bit her bottom lip. “It feels like it, sometimes.”
Mercy interrupted. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Don’t say it unless you mean it.” Andrew kept the teasing in his voice but didn’t face her. It was harder than he expected, to pull his gaze from the elegant form in the center of the room.
Mercy sighed, but a hint of amusement ran through the sound. “She’s not on the menu.”
When he thought Susan couldn’t turn any redder, she proved him wrong.
He finally turned away. “You know me. Hold the cherries on the dessert,” Andrew said. Taking someone’s virginity was as lucrative a fetish as anything in his business, but it wasn’t one of his fantasies. He lived that dream when he was younger.
Mercy rolled her eyes and nodded toward the offices. “Come on. I think you’re going to like what we came up with.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “See you around Suzie-Q.”
“I hope so.” Her smile was the most genuine thing he’d seen all day. His imagination did him the favor of showing him what she’d look like on her knees, mouth wrapped around his cock. Moans vibrating against the head. Susan sliding her fingers between her legs to press through spandex and make herself come.
That was distracting. He shook the thought away and followed Mercy.
Her office was as big as her entire rented space had been before the merger. She never seemed to mind the upgrade from faded carpet and metal cabinets to the leather and wood of this place.
“I know I don’t have to ask this, but humor me, because I’m going to anyway.” She settled into her chair, and he took the seat across from her.
“Anything for you.”
“Stay away from Susan?”
He hadn’t expected that. His shock slipped out before he could stop it. “She’s an adult. Isn’t that her call to make? She is an adult, isn’t she?”
“She’s twenty-one.”
“Legal and then some. Hell, she’s nearly a cougar. What makes you think I’m looking?”
“Please.” Mercy gave a short laugh. “I practically heard you get a hard-on, watching her.”
Sometimes being predictable sucked. “Guilty as charged. Does your fiancé know you’ve got an obsession with how my dick spends its time?”
“He watches me finger myself to the pictures every night.”
He was grateful she was making jokes. “I knew he had to have at least one redeemable trait for you to love him,” he said.
“I’m serious about Susan.”
“So am I.” He was tired of this conversation. It was a reasonable request, but he didn’t like that Mercy kept pushing it. “I’m not in the market to corrupt someone. If she’s not wicked on her own, let a different pervert pave the path. I suffered enough watching you and me break. But I’ll keep my distance. Cross my heart, hope to die.”
When she winced, he recognized his poor choice of words. It sank heavy in his chest. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I get that. The phrasing hit me hard is all. Old scars. Not as deep as yours, but there.”
He didn’t have a reply for that. He understood exactly what she meant and wasn’t interested in delving into that part of their past. “Now that the dirty work is out of the way”—he forced the cheer into his tone—“show me the goods, Miss Mercy.”
Chapter Four
Susan shouldered her duffel bag and headed toward the exit of the Rowe and Thompson offices. No one else was in, this time of morning. Heck, even the sun was barely peeking its head over the mountains. She couldn’t ignore the trace of disappointment that she had to work today. Part of her hoped, if she came in later—around nine or ten—she’d accidentally run into Andrew, like she had yesterday. Mercy set up a temporary office for him while he was in town, so he could work closely with her staff. Susan wasn’t sure what it was about him that fascinated her, but she wanted more time with him, to figure it out.
She pushed out the front door. When she collided with someone, it sent her stumbling back a few steps.
“Watch yourself,” the man said.
Andrew.
He rested his hands on her shoulders and steadied her. “Lost in thought, Suzie-Q?”
“I guess so.” She met his gaze. He had stunning brown eyes. The kind of dark that was almost black and easy to drown in. She wasn’t going to be flustered, the way she was yesterday. He’d caught her off-guard, watching her dance, but this time she had her wits about her. Third impressions counted for something, didn’t they? “You’re in early.” And that was less than brilliant.
“Yet you’re already leaving.” The way he looked her over, lingering on her hips and breasts, sent goosebumps racing across her skin.
It made her wish she wore clothing more fitted than yoga pants and a T-shirt. “I have to get to work, but I wanted to get some practice time in before.”
“There has to be a better place for you to practice than a photography room.”
“The studio I study at is in the valley.” Too long a drive for a morning session. There was room at home, but her dad didn’t understand why she pursued such a childish dream. She was lucky Ian let her use this place. It was quiet and private.
“Makes sense.” Andrew leaned against the side of the building, not looking like he was in a hurry to be anywhere. “Mercy says you’re really talented. Professional quality. What are the odds you can hook me up with tickets, while I’m in town?”
Maybe he was being polite, but his interest flooded her with heat—some of it embarrassment-related. “I… uh… wouldn’t hold your breath.”
“No? I promise I can pretend to be classy when the occasion calls for it.”
“It’s not that.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I haven’t had any luck getting parts.”
“What? I saw you yesterday. You’re brilliant.”
She resisted the urge to ask him how much he knew about dancing. To the untrained eye, a lot of people looked good. That didn’t mean they were. “I don’t quite make the cut. I don’t have stage presence, whatever that means.” She regretted the confession the moment it slipped out. She braced herself for the same type of you’ll get it next time or you need to try harder that most people gave her.
“I get that.” His answer caught her off guard. “I see it with actors sometimes. Brilliant when no one’s watching, but as soon as they know the cameras are rolling, all the boom goes out of the bang.”
Her brain skipped ahead several steps and kindly pointed out he was talking about porn. Thanks for that, mind. “But isn’t everyone that way?” She shouldn’t have asked that. Not that she was embarrassed to talk about sex; she was inexperienced, but not uptight. That didn’t mean she wanted him to know how inexperienced.
“What way?”
“Good at sex when the cameras aren’t rolling?” What the heck was wrong with her this morning? This was the opposite of sounding less-than-naïve.
He raised his brow, amusement tugging up one side of his mouth. “You’ll be happier if you believe that.”
Great. Now he thought she was dim, too. “Don’t condescend to me. I know better. I don’t understand why there’s a difference between in front of the camera and behind.”
“You just told me you did. It’s the same as you and dancing. I saw you yesterday. When you don’t know anyone’s watching, you flow like water. I’d guess you freeze up on stage.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’ve been doing things like public speaking since I was a kid.”
He shook his head. “Talking in church is different.”
“That’s not—” She snapped her jaw shut and took a few seconds to process her thoughts before speaking. “So… you’ve got someone who wants to do movies, but they can’t do it when people are watching. Do you tell them the cameras aren’t on, and then trick them? Or do they find different work?”
“There are ways around it. Learned hang-ups can be unlearned.”
“How?” No one had give
n her information about this before. Sympathy, reassurance, false hope—yes. But not an actual solution.
“It’s not a simple thing. I can’t hand you a self-help brochure.”
Her optimism evaporated. “Oh.” Her phone chimed, and she grabbed it. “Crap. I’m late to work. I’ll see you around?”
“Count on it.”
She couldn’t fight her smile as she headed toward her car. It was nice to have a conversation with someone who didn’t treat her like a child. Or try to shelter her. Or tell her she was going to hell for anything but chaste thoughts. On top of that, he made her think she might be able to fix whatever was holding her back in auditions. Next step was getting the details out of him.
*
Andrew settled into the office that would be his temporary business-home until Christmas, but his mind wasn’t on work. Susan fascinated him. She was a unique combination of innocent, bold, and curious. He meant what he told Mercy, though; he wasn’t in the market to teach someone how to be wicked. As long as he kept that in mind, he’d be fine when Susan was around. She was another girl, nothing more.
His cell phone rang, jarring him back to the present. When he saw Kandace’s name on the caller ID, he answered without hesitation. “Hey, sis.”
“Is now a good time?”
“Sure. Everything okay?” His relationship with his sister was complicated when it came to her son, Lucas. Kandace was ten years older than Andrew. When he was eighteen, he decided backpacking around the world was the best way to experience life. It was how he met Mercy.
He was in South America when he found out he had a son. His high school girlfriend dropped the boy on Kandace’s porch only sticking around long enough to sign the adoption papers. Kandace took custody of Lucas months before she could track Andrew down to tell him. Andrew and Kandace agreed she was a more stable force for the baby, and he sent support home, while she raised Lucas as her own.
Andrew hated that he couldn’t be more a part of Lucas’s life, but over the last year, as he spent more time here for business, his regret that his role was relegated to uncle grew.
“Fine. Good. Everything’s great. I’m sorry for standing you up on Saturday.” An underlying current of stress ran through Kandace’s voice.
When Andrew had asked for a bit of her time while he was in town, she’d hesitated, which she’d never done before, and that put him on edge. “You know I love the small talk, but I’m gonna cut you off. What happened?” he said.
“Lucas’s gay.”
Andrew shrugged, though no one was there to see him. “All right. Do you want me to give him the talk? Is ten too young for that? Are they ever too young?”
“Could you take things seriously for two minutes?”
Her irritation caught him off guard. “I’m being serious. It’s not a big deal.”
“You’re not giving him the talk. And it is a big deal.”
“So give him a big hug, tell him you love him regardless, and point him toward the internet. Or let me take him for the day. Sit down with him. Explain the birds and the bees and who his real father is.” He hadn’t meant to slip that in until he had a chance to build up to it, but he was glad it was out there.
“Stop.” Her word cut over the line. “He didn’t come out to me. Perhaps it’s not that binary. I don’t know. The problem is bigger than that. One of the sisters at school caught him kissing a male classmate.”
And rapped him on the knuckles with a ruler? Andrew swallowed the question but didn’t miss how she ignored his statement about telling Lucas the truth. “And?”
“And she and the school are recommending conversion therapy.”
“What?” He wasn’t letting a holier-than-thou zealot in a penguin suit brainwash his kid into believing being attracted to anything besides the opposite sex was evil. “There’s a reason states are making that illegal. There’s no fucking way, in this world or the next—”
“And Lucas wants to do it.”
A chill raced through Andrew, and he shuddered involuntarily. “No. Why? This is why you shouldn’t have sent him to Catholic school.” It was also another reason Andrew wanted to bring the boy back into his life. The private schools were good for Lucas’s education, but he needed a different influence, to offset the indoctrination.
Andrew was tempted to step in and just tell Lucas the truth. Take him away from this. But Kandace held a pretty big anvil over Andrew’s head—as Lucas’s legal guardian, she had the power to take him out of Andrew’s life completely. He didn’t think she’d actually do something that severe, but this was a topic he wasn’t willing to call bluff on.
“You wanted him to have the best education in the state,” she said.
Like Andrew needed the reminder. “I know.”
“And the only reason I’m telling you what’s going on is because you sign the checks to the school.” Her tone grew cold.
“Why does he want to do this?”
“He says they’re right. He thinks evil things about other boys, and he hates himself for it.”
Jesus. “I’ll come down tonight for dinner, and we’ll figure out what to do next.”
“We won’t be home until Sunday. And you’re not hearing me. You can come visit, but you don’t get a say in how things go down. I agree with you—letting him do this is dangerous and stupid—but I’ll figure out what happens next.”
“Then why loop me in?” Not that he was complaining. He needed to figure out how to stop this. “There’s an easy answer. I’ll sit down, we’ll talk about where he comes from, and I’ll remind him porn pays the bills and tell him that, if he’s going to hell, he should enjoy the ride.” Turned out he was in the mood to push the parenthood issue.
“You’re usually better at picking up on my no’s. I don’t want you to tell him the truth. He barely knows you. Don’t walk your ass in here and change that for your own ego. He’s doing fine the way things are. Come down, visit, be a strong uncle figure, and remind him it’s okay to be him.”
Okay for Lucas, but not Andrew apparently. A logical part of him agreed with his sister, coercing him to back down. Lucas had a stable life, believing the woman who raised him was his mother and not getting caught up in the insanity that was Andrew’s world. The last thing Andrew wanted was to make Lucas miserable. “I’ll drop by early next week. Hang out with him. Casually and unobtrusively remind him manly men can like men, and it’ll be fine.”
Her sigh echoed in his ear. “Thank you.”
“I want what’s best for him,” Andrew said.
“We’ll see you Monday.” She disconnected.
He tossed his phone aside and dropped his face into his hands. Conversion therapy. Fuck.
Chapter Five
Andrew looked over the last of the sample creative Mercy laid on the desk between them. “You can get away with this in print now?” he said. Strategic text, blurs, and graphics covered nipples and pussy but not much else. The woman in the picture looked like she was on the edge of the ultimate orgasm.
“I’ve run the basics by the sales team at that men’s magazine you like. They say there’s no guy and there are no naughty bits showing, so it’s acceptable. You’ve seen their articles. This is tame.”
She had a point.
“I’m sold. Run with it.” While he spoke, her attention drifted to something behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, but her office door was closed, and he didn’t see anything through the windows on either side. “What’s up?”
“I’m meeting Susan for lunch, and she’s pacing out there in the hallway.”
The name sent a spike through Andrew, teasing his thoughts and gliding over his skin. He wasn’t used to this kind of reaction to something as simple as the possibility of seeing someone. “We can wrap things up and pick up later if needed. No reason to keep her waiting.” He stood before Mercy could argue, and opened the door. “We’re almost done,” he said to Susan.
The conversation about him keeping his distance lingered in the bac
k of his mind, but Mercy was simply looking out for her younger sister. Since Andrew didn’t plan on hitting on Susan, he didn’t have to cut off contact with her. Besides, this wasn’t about him; they were the ones meeting up.
Susan hesitated in the doorway. “I don’t want to interrupt.”
“You’re not.” Andrew nodded at an empty seat. He swore he heard a low growl behind him, but when he looked at Mercy, she smiled.
Susan glanced at the artwork on the desk, then did a double-take. She tilted her head to one side and studied it more closely. “Is that supposed to be erotic?”
“It is.” Mercy sounded amused.
“But it’s so… I mean… I don’t understand how that’s physically possible.”
Andrew leaned back, one ankle on the other knee. “When a girl meet’s a guy who’s really well hung—”
“That’s not what I mean.” Susan pursed her lips, still staring at the image. “That pose looks really painful, and this is coming from someone who can put her foot behind her head.”
Andrew swallowed a groan at the image Susan’s admission provoked, and tried to ignore Mercy’s glare. He’d promised not to corrupt Susan, but there was no reason he couldn’t have a little fun. “Sometimes pain is the point.”
Susan’s cheeks turned a charming shade of dark pink. “I’m not talking about a slap to the behind or a little hair pulling. This is an I've got a cramp, and if I don't walk it off soon, I won't be walking for days kind of agony. I'm sure camera angle is important for that money shot, but at least make it plausible.”
This discussion shouldn’t be making him hard the way it was. “I’ll make a note to tell the photographer. Would you like to put your experienced eye on the rest of this campaign creative?”
Susan bit her bottom lip. Everything from her curious gaze to her flush to her quickened breathing said she was turned on. Fuck, if Andrew wasn’t tempted to push a little harder, to see how far things could go.
“You know what?” Irritation edged Mercy’s voice. “We’re almost done here. Susan, do you want to wait in the lobby, and I’ll be right out?”
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